Etherland: The Blockchain’s Land Registry

When Ethereum launched in 2015 as an open-source software project, it wasn’t anticipating the NFT craze to occur six years down the line. But with the NFT boom came a lot of innovations that might as well be tagged with the tech world buzzword: disruption. 

One of such innovations is Etherland, a project that stretches the use case of NFTs into the real estate sector. It combines real-world legal data about a place into a platform that creates NFTs out of these locations. 

What’s Etherland? 

One of the unique projects currently on the Ethereum blockchain is Etherland. As the world moves to a more digital and interconnected global village, the accessibility to real estate is also crucial. 

This is a wiki-style estatepedia built upon a big real estate database secured by the blockchain with real-world data. This data is then incorporated into NFTs that represent those data in the digital platform. The platform is powered by the Ethereum blockchain and IPFS (Interplanetary File System) to power the mechanism behind the storage and exchange of real estate information. 

The estatepedia stores and displays the social media handles, wiki website content, real estate data, visuals, videos, map localization, and blockchain identification details of each piece of real estate hosted on the platform. 

Like a Wikipedia page, you can edit the information on the land page. Unlike a Wikipedia page, you have to own the land on that page before you can edit the Information on the page. You have to own the NFT behind those lands or buildings before you can make an edit. 

But how can you create an NFT out of real estate? 

Etherland as an answer: land ID registration. 

Land ID Registration

Dealing with real estate can be sensitive as well as rewarding. Etherland uses a strict process to verify all pieces of real estate that exist on the Etherland metaverse. The process confirms the ownership of the real estate and ensures that no copyright or trademark laws were breached in the real estate registration of the real estate. 

To make the process more efficient, Etherland creates two categories of registration: actual owner registration; and public real estate registration. 

1. Actual owner registration: To get a verified badge on your Land ID, you need to be the real owner of the physical real estate you want to put on Etherland’s metaverse. Three documents are needed before registering:

• Your Passport or ID card.
• A Utility Bill.
• Your Certified proof of ownership

The documents serve as KYC  for identity verification as well as proof of ownership. The Etherland mobile app (which is currently available on Android) can be used to “drop” the LAND ID on location. You will have to go on-site and catch it, hence verifying your location. Only the real owner will be able to catch and receive the LAND ID. This serves as additional security to show ownership. 

However, to get a “verified” badge or status, you will have to provide a picture of your utility bill, address, ID card, and certificate of ownership in your name. 

1. Public real estate registration: since public places such as a landmark, a natural wonder, a park, an arena, or public infrastructures can’t be owned by an individual, Etherland allows users to register them as long as there are no copyright or trademark laws preventing such registration. 

Currently registered on the Etherland website are the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Colosseum, Pyramids of Giza, Washington Monument, etc. 

Users are advised to do due diligence before registering a public place. You can simply google the ownership of the copyright of a place before trying to registering it. 

Once a user has completed filling the registration form and passing the KYC, the NFT of the real estate will be minted on the Ethereum blockchain. 

Etherland Marketplace

The Etherland marketplace is the NFT market for all minted real estate NFTs. Since each NFT represents a real place, owners of the token are allowed to monetize it. 

Each NFT cost a certain amount of Eland. Buyers pay owners of the NFT a certain amount Eland stated as the price on the marketplace. 

However, it’s important to note that 900,000,000 ELAND will be burned on May 25, which is 95% of our initial allocation.

Should You Consider This Project?

While it is unclear what the future prospects of this industry-disrupting project is, it’s certain that it’s unique. 

What makes Etherland unique is that it offers a glimpse into what the future of real estate ownership may look like. Hosting the information of houses, public monuments, natural wonders on the blockchain might be the way we register our rights to land. In the world Etherland is building, the metaverse will hold a huge chunk of land information as it relates to the planet. As we begin to move to other planets, digital registration might aid easy Interplanetary stake to land. 

However, like many NFTs, a sale of the token doesn’t equal the ownership of the physical property. That might hinder how potential users accept the revolutionary nature of the Etherland project. 

Notwithstanding, Etherland is poised to be the world’s blockchain land registry. 

For additional information, visit https://etherland.world/ to learn more.